Oscar Valdez Returns with Victory against Richard Medina
The two-division former champion, Óscar Valdez, secured a more difficult-than-expected unanimous decision victory over Richard Medina in a 10-round featherweight bout. The event took place on Saturday at the Domo Binacional in Nogales, Mexico, Valdez’s hometown.
This matchup marked Valdez’s return to the ring after being stopped in the sixth round by Emanuel Navarrete in December, losing the WBC super lightweight title.
The scorecards were wide: 100-90, 98-92, and 97-93. Despite this, Medina (16-4, 9 KOs) maintained constant pressure throughout the fight, while Valdez (33-3, 24 KOs) defended against the attacks without managing to hurt his opponent.Óscar Valdez celebrates his victory by unanimous decision over Richard Medina, marking his return after the technical KO defeat against Emanuel Navarrete in December.Valdez, 34 years old, started strong, connecting hooks and using the jab to prevent “El Castigo” Medina from getting close. However, Valdez encountered an opponent with great resistance, who did not back down.
In the intermediate rounds, Medina gained momentum and managed to connect several blows. Valdez was overwhelmed in several exchanges and seemed to tire, unable to stop Medina’s advance.
Valdez regained strength in the eighth round, connecting hooks that impacted Medina’s face and caused him to lose his mouthguard. But Medina, 24 years old, was never in danger and continued to advance, taking punches to be able to throw his own.
It was clear that Valdez, former featherweight and super featherweight champion, had lost some speed. Despite this, he showed the courage of a champion and closed the fight strongly to return to the path of victory.
In his last five fights, Valdez has alternated wins and losses, since he lost by decision to Shakur Stevenson in 2022.
